Say these four statements out loud.
- 2012 will be a great year.
- It doesn’t matter what happens in the economy or in politics.
- I will have myself and my business prepared for success.
- I am excited about 2012!
It is easier to prepare for something defined rather than something vague, so you have to define success for yourself and your business. Define it for yourself first and then for your business. Here are a couple of questions you may find helpful:
- What do you want your business to provide to you in 2012?
- What will your business need to achieve in order to provide it to you?
Answering these questions and setting your beliefs (first 4) are key to getting the results you want. The next step is to create a plan. Reread the previous statement and check your gut. How do you feel when you think about planning?
Make Planning Fun
I find it more fun when instead of pushing myself to get it done I allow myself to be carried along by a good process in a fun environment. A good process is one that asks you interesting questions about each area of your business such that you will really think them through and carefully choose what deserves your focus. It should do this with fill-in-the-blank planning tools , explanations and help, human help, right there to move you forward.
The environment must support getting the plan done in a fun and effective manner. To think outside the box you have to get outside the box. Get away from your office and your phone and the all the interruptions so you can breathe freely and think about the big picture.
The environment should also stimulate new thinking and include other like minded folks that you can bounce ideas off and learn from. A group of business owners and leaders gets this nicely done. First timers get help from those more experienced and the more experienced get fresh ideas from folks new to the process.
With the right process, the right training, the right tools and friendly, stimulating help you can get a plan done that will help you every day.
Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
Experience shows that humans are pretty darn good at planning ahead for 13 weeks. Beyond that it gets a little sketchy! In our process we only do detailed planning for the next 90 days. We do set longer term goals we just don’t try to get specific beyond the next 90.
Good business is to give your plan a scrub and refresh every 90 days. These plans tend, especially the early ones, to get a little reality mud splashed on ‘em. Don’t worry – that’s what should happen!
Walkin’ Tall
The biggest result of planning is not the plan. The biggest result of planning is the effect on you. Whenever we learn or strengthen a skillset we feel better about ourselves and more confident. To learn to walk you had to fall down a few times. As adults we avoid situations that leave us walking taller because we are afraid we’ll fall-down-go-boom a few times. So we stay in our comfort zone. Funny thing is that staying in our comfort zone is falling down. We become, over time, sheepish. Say bahhh to that!
Take a Small Step Towards a Great 2012
Reread the 4 statements out loud again. If that seems a little out of the norm – good!
- 2012 will be a great year.
- It doesn’t matter what happens in the economy or in politics.
- I will have myself and my business prepared for success.
- I am excited about 2012!
Really successful people are not the mainstream. You’ll have to get comfortable with being a little different to have great success.
You Don’t Have to Do It Alone
Reinventing the wheel is not time well spent. Find your local ActionCOACH (like me
) and sit in on a planning session. The process, the tools, the training, the help and the sounding boards will all be there waiting for you. You’ll get comfortable right away and start having fun during the continental breakfast and it gets better from there.
2012 is the time for you feel great about your business. Read the 4 statements out loud to your self again. I’ll wait right here.
- 2012 will be a great year.
- It doesn’t matter what happens in the economy or in politics.
- I will have myself and my business prepared for success.
- I am excited about 2012!
Now click this link to find out about my upcoming planning session – we call it GrowthCLUB. Walk tall and sign up. I promise a fun and effective planning experience or I’ll give you %120 percent of your money back – no it’s not free – I do this for a living!!
Your unreasonable friend,
Dennis
216-965-9129
or text the word profit to the number 50500 to get a text message with my contact data – yeah, I’m a bit of a geek too!